


S.H.I.E.L.D. Adventures: Inferno

by SpiritAlpha



Series: Avengers High Universe [9]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), NCIS: Los Angeles, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banter, Battlestar Galactica References, Brotherly Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Crime Scenes, Crossover, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Ghostbusters References, Internal Conflict, Leaning on the Fourth Wall, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Robbie/Elena, Post-Civil War, Post-Episode: s04e08 The Laws of Inferno Dynamics, Post-Winter Soldier, Sister-Sister Relationship, Swearing, Teamwork, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, post-age of ultron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9070783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritAlpha/pseuds/SpiritAlpha
Summary: Scarlett, Abby, Lincoln and Robbie assist the NCIS Special Projects team after Ghost Rider kills a Marine who was selling secrets to the Russians, and encounter two unexpected foes from their pasts.





	1. Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost Rider kills a U.S. Marine and Director Mace sets up a joint investigation between NCIS and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The man got out of his car, the cool night air blowing on his face. The road was empty...or so he thought.

The sound of another car further up the road caught his attention and he turned to it. The streetlights illuminated the sight of a very familiar-looking black car, shining its headlights right at him and revving its engine.

The Ghost Rider.

He knew that the devilish vigilante would come for him eventually - the Ghost Rider always knew when you were guilty.

The car drove towards him at full speed and the man thought that he could hear a monstrous roar coming from within before it hit him.

* * *

Robbie woke up the next day with a vague memory of the previous night. Gabe noticed and asked what was wrong. Robbie just shook his head and didn't answer.

"Is it the Rider?" asked Gabe. "Maybe he killed someone last night and you can't remember?"

"Yeah, that'll be it." said Robbie. The news came on the TV and reported the death of Lieutenant Colonel James Grayson.

It was the man who Robbie - the Rider - had killed last night.

Robbie groaned and put his head in his hands. The Rider's vengeance kills were alright when they were normal civilians, not so when they were high profile like a U.S. Marine. Usually, he wouldn't think too much about the guilty souls that he - no, the Rider - had killed. But ever since he had Daisy, and especially after Gabe had found out about the "night job", Robbie had started to think about how the deaths of his - _the Rider's_ \- victims would affect others.

"Robbie?" asked Gabe, bringing him out of his thoughts. Robbie looked up at him and Gabe reached out and held his hand. "You killed him, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I didn't know that he was a Marine." said Robbie. "Doesn't matter. The Rider would have killed him anyway. He had a guilty soul."

"What are you going to do?" asked Gabe.

"I'm going to tell S.H.I.E.L.D." said Robbie. "I killed him, I'll deal with this." He leaned over and kissed Gabe on the head. "Don't worry about me, Gabe. I'll be fine."

"You've already died and got sucked into another dimension twice!" Gabe replied. "Can you blame me for wanting to make sure you're safe?" Robbie smiled.

"No." he said.

* * *

After dropping Gabe off at school, Robbie took out his phone and called Coulson.

" _Robbie_." Coulson answered.

"Coulson." Robbie replied. "I need to talk to you. It's about the Marine who was killed last night."

" _It was the Rider, wasn't it?_ " asked Coulson.

"Yes. If I can help in any way... I killed him, I should deal with it."

" _I'll come pick you up_." said Coulson.

Robbie drove Lucy back to the house and waited for Coulson. A while later the _Zephyr_ landed and Robbie drove onto the plane, parking Lucy next to Lola. He greeted Lola the same way he'd greet Lucy, as a friend, then Coulson led him into the command centre where Director Mace, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team and the Junior Avengers were waiting. Robbie was surprised at just how big the _Zephyr_ was to fit everyone in.

"The Marine who was killed last night." he said, getting straight to the point. "I killed him. Or rather, the Rider did."

"Well, at least we know the how and the why he died." said Abby.

"You don't seem too fussed about the fact that I killed a Marine." said Robbie. Abby shrugged.

"The Ghost Rider only kills people with a guilty soul." she said. "So, Lieutenant Colonel Grayson did something to get on the Rider's radar."

"The LA field office of NCIS are investigating the murder." said Mace. "Given the circumstances, I'll set up a joint investigation between NCIS and S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I'd like to be part of it." said Robbie. "I killed him, I deal with it."

"You could do with some medical knowledge in case anyone else, _not_ killed by the Rider, dies." said Lincoln. "I'll come with you."

"Abby and I will make sure you two don't do anything too reckless." said Scarlett.

"Daisy and I will check in on Gabe for you." said Elena, knowing that Robbie would be worrying about his brother.

"Thank you." said Robbie, smiling.

"Good." said Mace. "I'll get on the phone."

* * *

Back in his office, Mace got on the phone to Special Agent Henrietta Lange of the NCIS Los Angeles field office.

"Ms Lange." he said. "This is Director Mace of S.H.I.E.L.D."

" _Director Mace_." said Hetty. " _To what do I owe this call?_ "

"It's about Lieutenant Colonel James Grayson." said Mace. "I'd like to set up a joint investigation between NCIS and S.H.I.E.L.D."

" _Might I ask what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement in this is?_ " she asked.

"I know who killed Lieutenant Colonel Grayson." he replied. "But this needs to stay between us."

" _Of course. Who killed him?_ "

"The Ghost Rider." said Mace. Hetty paused.

" _The demon vigilante?_ "

"Yes. He's an...ally of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. He only kills those with a guilty soul, so Lieutenant Colonel Grayson must have done something to get himself on the Rider's radar. The trouble is, we don't know what it is, not even the Ghost Rider himself. He'd like to help with the investigation."

" _The Ghost Rider?_ "

"In his human form." said Mace. "I'm sending him and three other agents to your base. All four of them have...special abilities." He knew from the hum on the other end that Hetty understood 'special abilities' to mean 'superpowers'.

" _I have no problem with that, Director, as long as they don't cause too much damage_." she said. He smiled.

"I assure you, Ms Lange, they will make sure that doesn't happen."

" _Thank you. I look forward to working with them_."

"Thank you. Goodbye, Ms Lange."

" _Goodbye, Director Mace_."


	2. Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett, Abby, Lincoln and Robbie meet the NCIS Los Angeles team and start to investigate Lieutenant Colonel Grayson's guiltiness.

The _Zephyr_ dropped off Scarlett, Abby, Lincoln and Robbie in Los Angeles, and Robbie drove Lucy to the LA field office of NCIS where he parked her in front of a Dodge Challenger.

"Don't even think about it, Robbie." said Scarlett, knowing that he was going to start fanboying over the Challenger.

"What?" he asked, innocently. He saw Abby and Lincoln smirking in the rearview mirror. "Shut up." They got out of Lucy, and Scarlett and Abby led the way into the building. They were greeted by a small, older woman.

"I'm Henrietta Lange, Operations Manager." she said. "You're the agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Yes." said Scarlett. "I'm Agent Scarlett Barton. This is Agent Abigail Barton, Dr. Lincoln Campbell and Robbie Reyes." Lange nodded in greeting to Abby, Lincoln and Robbie.

"Now, Director Mace has told me that all four of you have special abilities, including one of you being Ghost Rider." said Lange. Abby, Scarlett and Lincoln felt Robbie tense up slightly. "I assure you that I am completely alright with this."

"Thank you, Ms Lange." said Scarlett, after the four of them breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a relief to hear that. We're always wary when we meet new people as we don't know how they'll react to our...differences." Lange nodded.

"You're welcome, Miss Barton." she said. "I doubt that my team will be as accepting, though. A dead Marine can be personal for them."

"We understand that." said Scarlett. "We're used to dealing with people who are...not as accepting." It usually ended in a confrontation, but she decided it was best not to mention that. Lange nodded.

"Very well. I'll take you to the team." she said, leading them to the bullpen. "Mr Callen!"

"Hetty." A man - presumably Callen - answered, as he and his team turned to her.

"These are the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." she said. "We're going to be working with them on this."

"Of course." said Callen. He looked at them. "Who's in charge?"

"That would be me and Lettie." said Abby. "We share the leadership. I'm Agent Abigail Barton. This is my sister, Agent Scarlett Barton, and our teammates Dr. Lincoln Campbell and Robbie Reyes."

"Agent Callen." he replied. "This is Agent Sam Hanna, Agent Kensi Blye, LAPD Liaison Marty Deeks, Technical Operator Eric Beale and Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones." The two teams nodded to each other.

"How old are you?" Sam asked her. Abby knew that she was bound to get that question.

"19, but I do look younger. I know." she replied.

"And to answer your other unasked question." said Scarlett. "Our parents work for S.H.I.E.L.D., which is why we do."

"Are we gonna tell them about the other thing?" asked Lincoln.

"Might as well, since we're going to be working together." said Abby. "Besides, Ms Lange..."

"Hetty." Hetty said. Abby nodded.

"Hetty is fine with it, and she's the boss, so this shouldn't be a problem." Abby continued.

"I don't know about that." said Robbie. His teammates knew what he was referring to. They were in Los Angeles, and the Ghost Rider was an urban legend around here.

"It'll be fine, Robbie." said Scarlett. She turned to the NCIS team. "How do you feel about people with powers?"

"Is this a trick question?" asked Deeks. "Is one of you going to turn out to have superpowers?"

"More like all of us." she replied. "Abby and I have super serum in our DNA inherited from our mother. We have super strength, speed, agility and reflexes."

"I'm also psychic and telekinetic." Abby added.

"Cool!" Deeks exclaimed, grinning.

"I'm an Inhuman." said Lincoln. "I can manipulate electromagnetic currents."

"So, basically, he's an Inhuman Pikachu." said Abby, smiling. Lincoln smiled and rolled his eyes.

"And you?" Kensi asked, looking at Robbie. After encouraging nods from Scarlett, Abby and Lincoln, Robbie answered.

"I'm the Ghost Rider." he said.

There was a tense pause as Abby felt a wave of fear and anger coming from Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks, and fear and awe coming from Eric and Nell. She, Scarlett and Lincoln moved closer to Robbie and the two teams stood staring at each other until Hetty moved in between them.

"Like Miss Barton said, I'm alright with it." she told her team. "Director Mace informed me. Let's put aside the differences and work together. Understood?"

"Yes, Hetty." said Kensi.

"Good." said Hetty, nodding. "Play nicely." She smiled and walked back to her desk. The NCIS and S.H.I.E.L.D. teams stood in an awkward silence, looking at each other.

"It's ok." said Robbie. "I often get the fear reaction." He nodded to Scarlett and Abby. "Except for these two and the rest of their team."

"You turn into a magical flaming skeleton!" exclaimed Abby. "How is that not awesome?"

"Well, I kill people and I...he...has a reputation around the city." said Robbie.

"Like you killed Lieutenant Colonel Grayson?" asked Sam.

"Technically, it was the Ghost Rider who killed him, not Robbie." Lincoln corrected him. "Robbie Reyes and the Ghost Rider are two completely separate people...if you can call the Rider a person."

"He's more like a spirit." said Robbie. "The Spirit of Vengeance. He only kills people who deserve it. Lieutenant Colonel Grayson had a guilty soul. That's why he was killed."

"How can you tell if someone is guilty?" asked Nell, curiously.

"I can see into people's souls to see what kind of person they are." he explained. "I determine if they're guilty and in need of punishment, or innocent and should be spared. That's how he's able to find his targets." He saw their confused looks. "I made a deal with the devil."

"Wow, could you have said that any more dramatically?" asked Abby.

"You made a deal with the devil?" asked Eric.

"It's a long story." said Robbie.

"What else can you do?" asked Nell. She and Eric had the same excited expressions on their faces that FitzSimmons often got, which made Lincoln smile. Typical nerds.

"I can generate and manipulate fire. I've got super strength, durability and a healing factor. I can also infuse objects with hellfire, which has made Lucy practically indestructible."

"Lucy?" asked Callen.

"His car." said Lincoln. "A 1969 Dodge Charger, aka the Hell Charger, aka Lucy. He's _very_ protective of her."

"She once got hit with an RPG and suffered no damage other than a really cool flip in mid-air." said Abby.

"I have a Dodge Challenger." said Sam. Robbie perked up.

"Oh, she's yours?" he asked. Sam nodded. "Lucy will be glad to have another Dodge to talk to." Abby, Scarlett, Lincoln, Callen and Kensi groaned whilst Deeks, Eric and Nell smiled.

"When you two are done fanboying over your cars." said Kensi.

"At least Agent Coulson isn't here." said Scarlett. "He has a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette called Lola. She and Lucy have inevitably been swapping stories about all of the shit that Coulson and Robbie get up to." Robbie raised his eyebrows. "What? They've been parked next to each other for weeks, and there's no way that both of them aren't sentient."

"Sentient cars?" asked Deeks.

"Yeah, you kind of accept the unusual when you work for S.H.I.E.L.D." said Abby.

"Like Robbie turning into a magical flaming skeleton." said Scarlett, smiling. Robbie groaned and Scarlett, Abby and Lincoln laughed.

"Sorry...Skull Head." said Abby. Robbie rolled his eyes and muttered in Spanish, making her and Scarlett laugh and Callen, Sam, Kensi and Nell smile.

"What information have you got on Lieutenant Colonel Grayson?" Lincoln asked Eric and Nell. The two techies transferred the information the information from their tablets onto the television screen and started to explain what they had found.

* * *

The NCIS and S.H.I.E.L.D. teams soon learnt to work together and the latter soon figured out the basic roles of the former, partly due to Abby's psychic scanning of them.

Grisha Alexandrovich Nikolaev Callen, commonly called "G", was the team leader and was the kind of person who didn't take no for an answer. As well as Spanish, he was also fluent in Russian, Polish, German, Italian, Romanian, Hebrew, Turkish and Chechen.

Sam was Callen's five-year partner and a former Navy SEAL. He drove a Dodge Challenger SRT-8 and was fluent in Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, Farsi, Danish and Korean.

Kensi was the team's sniper, trained in forensics, could lip-read and was fluent in Spanish, French, Japanese and Portuguese. Scarlett and Abby guessed that Kensi was the one who had to put up with her teammates' shit.

Deeks was a Liaison between the LAPD and the NCIS Special Projects team and was Kensi's partner. He was the comical and snarky one and also dating Kensi.

Eric was the Technical Operator of the team and could access any computer system in existence.

Nell was the team's Intelligence Analyst. She was an Ivy League graduate, had mild ADD and was fluent in Spanish.

Hetty was the boss and despite her stature was very clearly intimidating and had a no-nonsense attitude. She was fluent in Russian, French, German, Mandarin, Spanish, Czech, Romanian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hungarian and Pashto, was a pilot and skilled in Hapkido, Wushu, Kendo and Eskrima.

They were a badass team.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayson had a sister, Emma Grayson, so Kensi and Lincoln went to her house.

"Emma Grayson?" asked Kensi, when Emma opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm Agent Blye with NCIS." said Kensi, as she and Lincoln showed their badges. "This is Agent Campbell with S.H.I.E.L.D. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your brother, James."

"Of course." said Emma. "Please, come in." She stood aside to let Kensi and Lincoln in and led them to the sitting room. Emma sat down in an armchair and Kensi and Lincoln sat opposite her on the sofa. "Did the Ghost Rider kill James?" Kensi and Lincoln looked at each other briefly, shocked by her blunt question.

"Why do you ask that?" asked Lincoln.

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. is investigating James' death, then there must be something going on." replied Emma. "The only possible reason is that the Ghost Rider killed him."

"That's what we're trying to find out, Miss Grayson." replied Lincoln.

"When was the last time you spoke to James?" asked Kensi.

"It was yesterday afternoon at about 3:30." replied Emma.

"Was he acting strangely?"

"No, he was his usual self." said Emma.

"Can you think of anyone who would want to harm James?" asked Lincoln.

"Everyone loved him." said Emma. Lincoln could imagine Abby's exasperated _"Oh, come on! There must be someone who hated him!"_ in his head.

"Thank you, Emma." said Kensi. The three of them stood up and she took out a card and handed it to Emma. "Please let us know if you think of anything else."

"Please find whoever killed James." said Emma, taking the card.

"We will." said Lincoln, nodding.

* * *

Meanwhile, Deeks and Abby had headed to James' house to search for clues. She telekinetically picked the lock and they walked in.

"Do you usually open doors with your telekinesis?" asked Deeks. Abby shrugged.

"At least I'm not blasting it off its hinges." she replied. "And, no, I haven't done that. But I know some people who have. Now, shh! I need to concentrate."

"What are you doing?" he asked, as she closed her eyes.

"I'm psychically scanning the house."

"You do that?"

"Usually."

They put on gloves, split up and started to search the house. Neither of them found anything significant, but Deeks called Abby into the study where he had found a laptop.

"Worth hacking into, I suppose." said Abby, then promptly hacked into it. Deeks stared at her in shock.

"Did you just hack that in about..." he looked at his watch. "...five minutes?"

"Yep. Let's see what's on here."

Abby and Deeks looked through Lieutenant Colonel Grayson's laptop, finding nothing significant until Abby uncovered a series of encrypted emails. She dialled Scarlett's number and put her on speaker.

" _Abby_." Scarlett replied. " _Lincoln, Robbie, Callen, Sam and Kensi are here_." Of course she knew that she was on speaker.

"Lettie." said Abby. "We've found something interesting on Lieutenant Colonel Grayson's laptop."

" _Define interesting_."

"Encrypted emails." said Deeks.

" _Oh, definitely interesting_." she agreed. " _Can you crack it, Abs?_ " Abby laughed.

"Give me about five minutes." she replied.

" _You can crack encrypted emails in five minutes?_ " asked Callen.

"You be trained in computer hacking by Tony Stark and, yes, you can hack encrypted emails in five minutes." Abby answered. "Besides, our friend Daisy hacked the NSA in an hour, which is still pretty impressive given that it's the _NSA_."

" _Plus, Uncle Tony hacked the Pentagon for a dare when he was in high school_." Scarlett added.

"He did what?" asked Deeks.

"This is Tony Stark we're talking about here." said Abby, hacking the laptop as she spoke. "He does what he wants. Ok, done."

"Wow." said Deeks, checking his watch. "That was exactly five minutes." She gave him a not-at-all-smug smile.

" _Abby, stop_." said Scarlett.

"Sorry." replied Abby. "Ok, let's see what we've got here." She searched through the emails. "Looks like Lieutenant Colonel Grayson was exchanging emails with another person about a potential buyer. They don't mention who their buyer was, though."

" _That's convenient_." said Robbie.

" _I'm guessing Eric and Nell would be able to work out who the other person is from this?_ " Lincoln asked.

" _That's what they do_." said Callen.

"Ok, we're on our way." said Deeks.

* * *

Abby and Deeks took the laptop back to NCIS and Eric and Nell got to work tracking the emails.

"You hacked this in five minutes?" Eric asked, impressed.

"Yep." replied Abby, smiling.

"And you know Tony Stark?" asked Nell, in awe.

"Yes, we do." said Scarlett.

"What's he like?"

"He's a five year old in an adult's body, but he means well." said Scarlett.

"Well, except when he created Ultron." Abby added. "That...didn't go so well."

"No, it didn't." Scarlett agreed.

"Didn't he lift a whole chunk of Sokovia up into the air?" asked Eric.

"Yes, he did." said Abby. "If it wasn't for a Helicarrier-ex-machina, it would've been much harder to fight him." She looked at her sister. "What? It _was_ a Helicarrier-ex-machina!" Eric and Nell's computer beeped.

"Got it!" Nell exclaimed. "The emails were being sent to Konstantin Dmitriyev, a former KGB agent living in Los Angeles."

"Of _course_ he's KGB." said Scarlett, exchanging glances with Abby. "What are the chances?"

"Robbie and I will go get him." said Sam. Robbie nodded.

"Lucy could do with a ride." he agreed.

"This should be interesting." Lincoln said, quietly, but Robbie still heard him and grinned.

"Robbie, don't burn anyone." said Abby, jokingly.

"I won't." Robbie replied. "Although technically, it's the Rider who burns people."

"If you're still _you_ , though, then it'd be you burning people." said Lincoln.

"I'm only able to burn people because the Rider lets me." said Robbie. "I get confused about it as well."

"I think it depends on whether it's Robbie or the Ghost Rider." said Scarlett. "It's like you said, Lincoln, they're two completely different people, even though the Ghost Rider isn't technically a person." She looked at Robbie. "Can the Rider hear everything we're saying?"

"Of course." said Robbie, nodding.

"Right." she said. "Ghost Rider? No matter how guilty Dmitriyev's soul is, do _not_ kill him! We need him alive for interrogation. Got it?"

"Got it." Robbie replied, in a deeper voice which told them that it was actually the Ghost Rider replying.

"Did you just tell a demonic spirit to behave itself?" asked Lincoln.

"I did." Scarlett replied, nodding.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Abby, grinning.

"Not even I can do that." said Robbie, his voice back to normal. "And I'm the one he's possessing." Scarlett shrugged.

"Women are better at getting men to behave themselves." she said. "You lot just go straight into a confrontation without thinking things through."

"Oh yeah." Kensi and Nell agreed, smiling and nodding. The four women ignored the indignant looks that Callen, Sam, Deeks, Eric, Lincoln and Robbie were giving them.

"Come on, then." said Robbie to Sam. "Let's go get Dmitriyev."

* * *

Lucy drove along the road. She was going at normal speed, but Sam could tell that she could go really fast if she or Robbie wanted to.

"So, are you going to burn Dmitriyev?" asked Sam. Robbie laughed.

"No. It's just a joke that everyone likes to make." he replied. "As I said, the Rider gives me the ability to burn people with hellfire. That's only if he senses that they have a guilty soul." He paused. "Like your Marine." There was an awkward pause. "I didn't know he was a Marine."

"It wasn't your fault." said Sam.

"Thanks, but you don't know what it's like." said Robbie. "Are you a big brother? You sound like you protect someone."

"I'm a dad." said Sam. "I have two kids. What about you?"

"Big brother. My little brother is everything to me. He's the only thing keeping me together. Without him, the Rider would take me over completely, and that is _not_ something I would want to happen."

They arrived at Dmitriyev's house and got out of Lucy. They walked up the front steps and Sam knocked on the door.

"Konstantin Dmitriyev!" he called. "Federal agents! Open up!" Robbie's super hearing picked up the sound of running footsteps near the back of the house.

"He's running." he said.

"Go round the back." Sam told him. Robbie nodded and headed round there. Sam heard a loud thud and ran, seeing Dmitriyev lying on the ground in pain. Robbie was standing over him.

"Looks like I hit him harder than I was expecting." said Robbie.

* * *

When they took Dmitriyev into the boatshed, Robbie found his three teammates standing there with their arms folded.

"Ok, Robbie." said Abby. "How much damage did you do?"

"Well, I didn't kill him." said Robbie. "I hit him harder than I was expecting."

"From the look of him, you broke some ribs and an arm and sprained his wrist." said Lincoln.

"The Rider was making up for not being able to burn him alive." said Robbie. He looked at Scarlett. "You were right. Dmitriyev does have a guilty soul."

"Scarlett, Abby, Lincoln, Robbie, any of you fancy interrogating him?" asked Callen. The four of them looked at each other then back at him.

"I'll go." said Scarlett. "I can get under his skin."

"Are you using Mom's or Dad's interrogation technique?" asked Abby.

"Mom's." Scarlett replied. "You always use Dad's. You're good at that." Abby grinned.

"What's the difference?" asked Kensi.

"Mom uses the reverse interrogation, Dad uses the 'annoy the suspect as much as possible'." Scarlett explained. "Abby is _particularly_ good at the latter."

"She's the younger sibling." said Robbie. "She would be." Abby rolled her eyes and playfully hit him on the arm. Lincoln smirked. 

Callen and Scarlett went into the interrogation room whilst the rest of the teams watched on the monitor outside. Scarlett wasn't surprised to see that Dmitriyev wasn't at all affected by his broken ribs. Callen sat down opposite him whilst Scarlett leant against the wall, arms folded and watching Dmitriyev carefully.

"Konstantin Dmitriyev." said Callen. "How did you meet Lieutenant Colonel James Grayson?"

"Who?" asked Dmitriyev, faking ignorance. Callen showed him a picture of the Marine. "Oh yes. Him."

"How did you meet him?" Callen repeated.

"We found that he was looking to sell American secrets, so we...recruited him." Dmitriyev replied. Scarlett tilted her head and looked at him, suspiciously. This was too easy. She wasn't expecting an ex-KGB agent to give up so quickly.

"You said 'we'." she said. "Who else is there?" Dmitriyev simply smiled and didn't answer. "Ok, where's your base?"

"A warehouse." he answered, and gave them the location. Callen and Scarlett looked at each other then walked back out to the others.

"I have a bad feeling about this." said Abby. "It's too easy."

"I agree." said Scarlett. "We'll be fine, _sestra_. Don't worry about me. Callen and I will just go and investigate the warehouse."

"You tell me not to worry about you, which means something is gonna happen." said Abby. She sighed. "Fine." She looked at Callen. "Callen, if _anything_ happens to Lettie, you'll have me to answer to. Got it?" Callen almost laughed, but saw how serious she was and nodded.

"Got it." he said.

"Good."

Callen and Scarlett went out to his car and drove off to the location that Dmitriyev had given.

* * *

"Sorry about Abby." said Scarlett, as they drove along. "She can be quite protective of me at times, especially when the KGB are involved." Callen nodded in understanding.

"Was she going to kill me if something happened to you?" he asked. She laughed.

"No, but she'd definitely seriously hurt you in some way." she replied. "Abby has the tendency to make her opponents underestimate her."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the boatshed, the rest of the team had taken over the interrogation in pairs - Sam and Robbie, Kensi and Lincoln, Deeks and Abby. The three pairs each did it differently. Deeks and Abby used the 'annoy the suspect as much as possible' technique, Kensi was the good cop and Lincoln used his medical knowledge to inform Dmitriyev in great detail about his injuries and Sam and Robbie were the intimidators. Robbie had enough experience with interrogation thanks to the Ghost Rider making him hunt down guilty souls.

“Who’s your buyer?” asked Sam.

“I do not know his name.” replied Dmitriyev. “He only uses a codename.”

“What’s the codename?” asked Robbie.

“The Red Guardian.”

Outside the interrogation room, Abby gasped.

“ _Dermo_.” she muttered, before running into the room. Ignoring Sam and Robbie, she went straight for Dmitriyev.  “You said the Red Guardian?”

“That is correct, _baryshnya_.” he replied. She took out her phone and showed him a picture.

“Is this your buyer?” she asked. He nodded.

“Yes, that is him.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Yes, I am sure.”

“Abby?” she heard Robbie ask, sensing the concern in his voice. She punched Dmitriyev in the face and ran out, being closely followed by Robbie and Sam.

“ _Dermo_ , _dermo_ , _dermo_ …” she muttered.

“Abby?” asked Lincoln, also in concern. Ignoring both him and Robbie, she called her sister.

“ _Abby?_ ” Scarlett answered.

“Scarlett!” Abby exclaimed. There was a brief pause on the other end.

“ _What’s happened?_ ” Scarlett asked, her voice serious. Abby _never_ called her by her full name unless it was an emergency.

“We got the name of Dmitriyev’s buyer.”

“ _Who is it?_ ”

“Alexei Shostakov.”

They both paused, as Scarlett took this in.

“ _Он здесь?_ ” ( _He’s here?_ ) asked Scarlett, her tone turning to fear.

“Да, к сожалению.” ( _Yes, unfortunately_.) replied Abby. “Be careful, _sestra_. If anything happens to you…”

“ _Don’t worry, Abigail. I can take care of myself_.” Scarlett reassured her, using Abby’s full name to reinforce the message. “ _Besides, Callen’s with me. I’ve got backup_.”

“Ok, but if you need extra backup, call me.” said Abby.

“ _You might as well tell them about Shostakov. I’ll explain to Callen_.”

“Will do.” Abby replied. “Take care, Lettie.”

“ _I will, Abby_.” The call ended and Abby breathed out, resting her head in her hand.

“Abby?” asked Robbie. She sensed him and Lincoln looking at her in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not the only one with an evil family member.” she replied. He and Lincoln looked at her curiously. She looked at them and Sam, Kensi and Deeks. “It’s Lettie’s biological father. He’s come back to life…again.”

“I thought Clint was Scarlett’s father?” asked Lincoln.

“Her adoptive stepfather.” Abby said. “Her biological father is Commander Alexei Shostakov of the KGB. He’s a super soldier, basically the Russian equivalent of Captain America, and a former Soviet test pilot. He has a _really_ annoying habit of faking his death.”

“Like flying a jet into space?” asked Lincoln. She smiled.

“Well, the KGB _did_ fake his death in a training accident.” she said.

“You said he came back to life again?” asked Robbie.

“We killed him last time, but I can't really remember how.” she replied, thinking about it. “I think it was an RPG?” Everyone stared at her.

“He was hit with an RPG and survived?” asked Kensi.

“Yeah, welcome to our world, where people can get hit with RPGs and survive.” said Abby. "Besides, Lucy got hit with an RPG and suffered no damage."

"True." replied Robbie. "I'm sure Scarlett will be fine, Abby."

"Something we've certainly learnt is that the women at S.H.I.E.L.D. are more dangerous than the men." Lincoln agreed, smiling. Robbie nodded in agreement. The two men's faces then went back to serious. "Scarlett will be fine, Abby." Abby nodded, but wasn't convinced.

* * *

"Who is Shostakov?" asked Callen.

"My biological father." said Scarlett. "He's an asshole and has a really bad habit of coming back to life every time we kill him." She shrugged. "That's normal for S.H.I.E.L.D., but it's still unhelpful when bad guys keep coming back."

"How did he die last time?" asked Callen.

"We hit him with an RPG." she replied. Callen looked at her, his eyes wide. "Watch the road." Callen looked back at the road. "Papa isn't a good man. I don't want anything to do with him."

"Is it a coincidence that both he and you are in Los Angeles at the same time?" he asked.

"I don't know."

They arrived at the warehouse and got out of the car, drawing their guns. They sneaked into the building and saw groups of military-looking men. Given that Shostakov was involved, Scarlett guessed that they were KGB.

She and Callen crept up behind them and took out the nearby ones with a chokehold and Scarlett ICEd the remaining ones.

"What was that?" asked Callen.

"It's an ICER." she replied. "They knock people unconscious. Our team's techies created them. They're handy when you just want to incapacitate and not kill." She heard a familiar voice speaking Russian and looked, frowning when she saw who it was. "Shit."

"Shostakov?" Callen asked. She nodded. They walked out behind him, guns pointed. "Alexei Shostakov! Turn around now!" Shostakov did so and his gaze settled on Scarlett.

" _Zdravstvuyte_ , Scarlett." he greeted her.

" _Zdravstvuyte_ , Shostakov." she replied, coldly and glaring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet your father?" he asked.

"You're not my father." she replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the lovely American sun." he answered.

"Bullshit." she said.

"We're investigating a dead Marine." said Callen. "He was selling secrets to an ex-KGB agent and he led us to here."

"Who are you?" asked Shostakov.

"Agent Callen, NCIS." said Callen.

"What are you really doing here, Shostakov?" asked Scarlett. "How did you know that I was going to be here?"

"I told him." said another familiar voice. Scarlett's eyes widened as she saw the man walking up next to Shostakov.

" _Que demonios?_ " ( _What the hell?_ ) she whispered.

"Who's that?" Callen asked her.

"Eli Morrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "baryshnya" = "miss"  
> "Zdravstvuyte" = "hello"


End file.
